


Avengers Kissing Fest Commentfic

by estelendur



Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Comment Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-08
Updated: 2012-07-08
Packaged: 2017-11-09 10:07:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/454278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/estelendur/pseuds/estelendur
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>So there I was, reading through the <a href="http://such-heights.dreamwidth.org/390500.html">Avengers Kissing Fest</a> on such_heights's Dreamwidth, when I came across an unfilled prompt I simply had to fill. And then another. And then another. And then one other. So here are my fills.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Steve/Coulson, adoration

**Author's Note:**

> This is commentfic! That means it's unedited.
> 
> Nothing has anything more than a kiss, but all have at least one kiss.

The first time Phil Coulson sees Steve Rogers in the flesh, his breath hitches and something in his chest tightens - this is the man he’s idolized his whole life. He sits next to the enclosure holding Steve’s gently thawing body and rests a hand against the high-tech glass, awed.

As if to give him a moment of privacy, every SHIELD agent in the room happens to be turned away for a moment - just long enough for Phil to self-consciously press a reverent kiss to the glass next to his hand for the greatest soldier who ever lived, brought back to life.

—

 

After the last time Steve Rogers sees Phil Coulson in the flesh, when Fury’s tossed Phil’s trading cards on the table in front of him, Steve pays one last visit to the room where he died. He kneels next to the blood stain on the wall and remembers, mourning.

He’s completely alone and he places a gentle kiss just above the blood stain, where he imagines Coulson’s forehead would have been, gentle rites for a man who was not a soldier, but every bit as brave, unable to be brought back to life.


	2. Bruce/Clint, solace

Living in Avengers Tower is nice, in some ways, but after a couple weeks Bruce notices that he's been tenser than usual (notices by observing a graph noting his daily stress level on a five-point scale from Buddha to Hu- the Other Guy) and realizes that he's barely been alone except to sleep since before he moved in. So, naturally, he goes looking for places to be alone (the lab doesn't count).

Just as naturally, where he does find a place to be alone, he finds Clint also.

"Looking for me?" Clint is sitting with his knees pulled up to his chin, curled over, watching as far as the eye can see.

"Actually, I was looking for nobody. I kind of need to be alone for a while, so I guess I'll be going." Bruce starts to walk away.

"Wait." So he does, standing there while Clint almost starts to say something, until, "Never mind. Try the storage room behind the archery range. It'll be empty and there's a nice little perch in the top right."

"Thanks," Bruce says, and goes there, and although he's disinclined to climb up to perch, there's a clean fluffy little rug on the floor where he can sit and think.

\--

The next time Bruce goes looking for solitude, carefully avoiding everyone's known haunts, he finds Clint on the roof, sitting on the spot where Selvig and Loki had set up the portal machine, cross-legged and with a look of frustration on his face.

"Hey," Bruce says, giving an awkward half-wave before sticking his hands in his pockets self-consciously.

"You meditate, right?" Clint asks.

"Sure, sometimes," says Bruce, not sure where this is going.

"I'm trying, and it's not working quite right," says Clint. "Would you mind giving me some tips, or something?" He seems almost embarrassed to be asking; Bruce can count the number of conversations they've had on one hand outside of the field.

"Sure, I guess," says Bruce, sitting next to Clint and shifting to find a comfortable spot on the gravel. "Let's start with counting breaths. Breathe in to the count of four, hold for four, breathe out for four, hold for four..."

\--

The next time Bruce wants to be alone, Clint seeks him out. Instead of saying anything, Clint perches next to Bruce, on the arm of the inexplicable basement couch (sub-basement 3, to be exact) and just sits there. Bruce looks at him, puzzled, but when no words are forthcoming, shrugs and goes back to thinking (actually letting his thoughts chase each other in circles until they settle down).

After maybe ten minutes of this, Clint speaks up. "You don't trust me."

Bruce cocks his head and says, "You don't trust me."

Then, silence, until at once they get up and leave in opposite directions.

\--

The next time, they seek each other out, because actually acknowledging that they don't trust each other smoothed out their battlefield performance, while making casual conversation infinitely more awkward.

Once again they meet on the roof, standing this time. They make awkward eye contact, and Clint says, almost immediately, "You first."

"You don't trust me because I terrified Natasha," Bruce guessed.

"Bullseye," said Clint, miming shooting an arrow, masking vulnerability with bad jokes.

"But you're wrong. I do trust you."

Clint just looked at him, questioning.

"I know what it's like to be shoved out of your own mind by something deadly. I know what it's like to have no idea when it might come back or if I can stop it. I have blood on my hands that I barely knew was there until I looked at the death tolls afterward. Fury trusts me. Coulson trusted me. Steve and Tony trust me. They're pretty smart people, so I probably did something to deserve it. At least, I know that intellectually. So it would be... bad of me, not to trust you, when the thing that took your mind is gone. We think. After all, mine's never leaving."

"You know, for a scientist, you aren't usually that talkative," commented Clint. He softened visibly. "Thank you." Several seconds passed. "I tried the meditation techniques you showed me. It didn't work. I can't stop thinking about..." He trailed off.

"It's a lot harder not to think about things than it is to process and organize your thoughts," Bruce admitted. "I haven't really had a satisfactory outlet since... since the accident."

Clint quirked an eyebrow. "What kind of outlet?"

"I find distraction works well. It has to be multi-faceted, though - physical as well as mental, to tire out my brain and my body." Bruce raised an eyebrow in return.

They stood there, silent, for a time. Then Clint held his hands out and offered, "Show me."

Bruce took Clint's hands in his, turned them up, and kissed each palm once, gently. He guided Clint's hands to his shoulders and pulled him closer to nuzzle at the base of Clint's neck, laying a light trail of kisses up and around to his lips, and hovered, millimeters from kissing.

"Are you sure?" he breathed.

"Absolutel-"

And they took solace in one another, distracted from the red, dark thoughts ever at the edges of their minds, finding one more place in the world where they could feel trusted and whole.


	3. Tony/Bruce, affection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by [this Tumblr post](http://estelendur.tumblr.com/post/23398933256/helioscentrifuge-theradioprotector).

When Tony hears Bruce casually describe his inability to kill himself, his heart damn near breaks. One of the most brilliant scientists he's ever met - and he doesn't just say that because Bruce has done some work even he can't quite improve on at the moment - and he talks about himself like nobody would miss him if he were gone. Like it's normal to get so low you try to eat lead.

Which only seals the deal Tony had already made with himself, to bring Bruce back to Stark Industries like the lonely, lost, brilliant scientific puppy he is and just let the man loose in a lab.

So he uses some of the downtime between defeat of Loki and sending-back of Loki to have Jarvis find out the kind of lab setups Bruce used to use before the accident, so that his very own nook of R&D would be set up in a way that was familiar, yet not quite like seeing an old ghost.

Tony is very happy indeed when he leads Bruce to the nook (well, he calls it that, but it's more like twice the size of the lab on the helicarrier without even counting the large instruments) and is immediately confronted with the question "Did you set this up specifically for me?" Tony doesn't answer directly, merely points out all the instruments he's arranged for specially and the empty spaces for the ones that Bruce can special-order and gleefully watches Bruce practically have a nerd-gasm.

"I'll leave you to settle in, big guy," Tony says as he waves and leaves.

"Yeah sure," Bruce mutters, already pulling up data on a screen.

\--

Tony and Bruce, oddly enough, seem to keep the same psychotic hours, wandering out of their workshop and lab, respectively (because of course Stark R&D is in Stark Tower), in the middle of the night to grab a bite to eat and a cup of caffeine to drink. So, naturally, when their nom-o'clock happens to overlap, they talk about science a lot.

At first Tony's just glad to have someone who can (nearly, he tells himself) operate on the same intellectual level. Then he notices that Bruce outright avoids talking about the Avengers, about the Hulk, about Loki, about the fact that they're in Stark Freaking Tower and there's still damage everywhere. So he tries to steer the conversation around to those topics, wanting to figure out exactly why and if there's something he can fix. They've begun to have a little overlap in their projects, and if something's bothering his science buddy-- Tony remembers that moment of heartbreak on the Helicarrier, and, surprising himself a little, swears he won't let Bruce get that low again, not if he can help it.

Of course, because he's Tony, the logical course of action is to show up in Bruce's lab one afternoon and say, "The other guy saved my life, you know," with absolutely no warning.

"Hi, Tony," Bruce says, sounding resigned rather than surprised.

"The Hulk, I mean," Tony needlessly clarifies.

"Yes, Tony, I'm aware," Bruce says, playing with data on his screen.

"So he's clearly not all bad. He saved your life, he saved my life, he helped save Manhattan."

"Tony, those were exceptional circumstances," Bruce says in his most patient you-don't-get-it-do-you voice. "Haven't we discussed this enough?"

"No, we haven't," Tony says, hopping up to sit on the desk next to Bruce. "By reason of you-" he tugs Bruce over to face him, "keep avoiding the topic of the other guy. And the topic of the Avengers. And Manhattan. And the fact that you're living in Stark Freakin Tower, or what parts of it are rebuilt. Everything even tangentially related to the other guy, you won't even touch. You won't even help me work on the Chitauri tech," and here Tony pouts. "Not that I can't do it myself, but you might think of something I haven't yet."

"Yet?" Bruce quirks an eyebrow and turns away.

"Stop trying to change the subject," Tony says, pulling Bruce close enough to lock his legs around Bruce's waist. "Don't go away. You are having this conversation, even if we have to be uncomfortably close in order to have it."

"Why, Tony?" Bruce sighs and doesn't even try to escape the leg-lock.

"I built the other guy a playground."

"You what?"

Tony tightens his grip in case Bruce tries to run away again, and adds his hands on his shoulders for good measure. "I built him a playground. So you can let him out if it gets to be too much and not worry about us trying to kill you or imprison you and he can run around and… smash things. It's walled in enough layers of the strongest alloy known to men produceable in sufficient quantity, and has enough stuff in it he can smash safely that he shouldn't try pounding on the walls too hard. The smash toys are reassembling on the same principle that sea sponges use, so he'll never run out of things to hit, and if Thor ever comes back down they can play in there safely."

"Why?" Bruce appears to be having difficulty processing this, which is good, because Tony's gesticulating means he inadvertently released him during the speech, which Tony quickly corrects.

And this is the hard question. "If you don't learn to control the transformation, if you never trust yourself-- I would be very sad if you tried to kill yourself again," he says in a rush. "And it would eat at you from inside - if you have that much power how do you know you can control it and all that, but if you practice, if you use it, you'll learn how to control it, and I made you a safe place for that, where nobody will get hurt."

Bruce looks slightly shocked, then looks around at the arrangement of their bodies and looks very shocked. He seems to come to a realization. "Do you… like me?" he asks, pulling away slightly.

"I consider you a very good friend," Tony says. "And am very grateful you saved my life. I harbor some not insignificant amount of professional and personal affection for you. And maybe your intelligence is a huge turn-on, yeah," and he grins wickedly.

"In that case," says Bruce, "Thank you for the science and thank you for the playground. Thank you for caring." He leans forward and kisses Tony on the nose.

"Is that all I get?" Tony pouts.

"I'm working my way up to it," Bruce says. "It's been a while. Now can you let me out of this trap so I can do my work? I promise I'll go use the playground later."

"Okay," Tony says, pulling Bruce in for a real kiss, gentle and kind, and releasing him. "I see you're working on that project I mentioned yesterday." He hops down and stands at the screen next to Bruce. "Here, let me show you what I've got. Jarvis, give me the relevant files."

Bruce smiles, and leans into Tony just a little while they work.


	4. Steve/Thor, laughter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You may be interested to know that I [rewrote](http://archiveofourown.org/works/454710) this.

When everyone else in the Tower rubs Steve the wrong way - Tony is being Tony, Natasha and Clint are brooding or being their own little social bubble, Bruce is trying to hide from himself - he can always count on Thor to cheer him up. So one gray rainy day, when all of Steve's sketches turn out melancholy and everyone else's mood matches the weather, he knocks on Thor's door and asks to spar.

Thor, of course, thinks that sparring on the roof is the best idea ever. What the hey, Steve thinks, it's a workout, and the rain isn't bad when he can slip into the immersive mode of being that is fighting. They stop, eventually, and dissect the session, discussing what worked, what didn't, and how they can apply the lessons to fighting as the Avengers.

"You are a good man, Steven," Thor says, clapping him companionably on the shoulder.

"Thanks," Steve says, smiling honestly. "You're a good man, too, you know," he says, nudging Mjolnir with the side of his foot where Thor had lain it on the roof. It moves. They look at each other, at the hammer, at each other, both looking completely shocked.

"Lift it, comrade," Thor urges.

So he grasps the handle and pulls - and the hammer comes with him.

"Whosoever is worthy..." mutters Thor. "My friend, this is marvelous, as well as a distinct tactical advantage. Try to summon it to you."

When Steve steps away and holds out his hand, willing the hammer to him, nothing happens. "Oh, well," Steve says, but Thor holds up a hand and says, "Wait, I will try to will it to you."

And suddenly Mjolnir flies into Steve's hand. He gives it an experimental toss; it returns to him. He throws it to Thor; it stays with Thor.

"Amazing," Thor says, throwing Mjolnir back to Steve. "See if you can fly," he suggests.

"I'd be more comfortable if you were right here to grab it in case it stops working."

"Very well, that is no problem." And Thor steps up and wraps his arms around Steve, holding him tightly. "Now hold out your arm and will yourself to fly. It helps if you spin it."

Suddenly Steve is flying! He almost panics, wraps his free arm around Thor's solid shoulders, and starts laughing, with only an edge of hysteria. He turns and swoops, and feels like he almost drops Thor- "Maybe carrying you wasn't the best choice for my first flight," he remarks.

"Then let me take over," Thor says, calling Mjolnir to his grasp from Steve's. For a heart-stopping moment, they drop into freefall; then Mjolnir catches them again and Thor brings them back to the roof of the tower.

Now Steve lets all the fear catch up and breaks down laughing: laughing because he almost fell to what would probably have been his death on the streets of New York, because even he might break into pieces from that height; laughing because of course he wasn't going to die, he had Thor with him; laughing because the alternative is to break down completely.

He expects Thor to laugh with him, still having difficulty with realizing Thor complexly in his mind, still confusing "ignorant of Earthly things" with "stupid" even though he hates it when the others do that to him. So he's pleasantly surprised when Thor straightens him up and holds him, stroking his hair and rubbing his shoulders until he's calm. He's pleasantly surprised when Thor says, "Do not worry. Next time there will be more control, unless you do not wish there to be a next time. Perhaps we can ask Tony to act as a safety."

Steve takes a jagged, shuddering breath and exhales smoothly. Calm. He's calm. "I think- I think I don't want Tony knowing I can handle Mjolnir. Let's surprise him. He could do with some surprising." He's calm, but he doesn't try to break Thor's hold. He feels safe, for the first time since he lost Peggy, for almost the first time since he lost Bucky.

"You are well?" Thor moves away enough to look him in the eyes. "I did not mean for you to be frightened."

"No, I'm good."

Thor nods, once. Kisses Steve on the left cheek, right cheek, mouth, once. "You are a good comrade. Shall we celebrate your newfound ability?"

Steve blinks, swallows, says, "Celebrate how?"

"In whatever manner you feel appropriate! Although perhaps we should begin by changing into dry clothes."

Right. It's raining. Steve nods, leans in, returns the three (ritualized?) kisses. "Yes. That would be appropriate. Let's watch a movie neither of us have heard of."

"I like this idea," says Thor, and grins. Steve grins back. It's infectious.

So morning finds the two of them asleep on the couch, curled up next to each other, Mjolnir cuddled between them. That is, until Clint dumps a bucket of water on them, and Tony videotapes it because "the internet needs to know!", and Natasha smirks from the sidelines and Bruce sips his herbal tea in the corner. But Steve and Thor just look at each other and laugh.


End file.
